James is the Young Xavier

Everyone wants to be in a superhero movie these days. Even the real actors. Like James McAvoy. It’s certainly a lucrative opportunity. In his case though, there is a little more than that.

Just announced: James McAvoy will star in X-Men: First Class as Charles Xavier. A young Charles Xavier. Before the chair. Before he and Magneto became adversaries. Again, not McAvoy standard fare. So what was the draw?

The draw is Matthew Vaughn.

Matthew Vaughn just directed Kick-Ass. Matthew Vaughn will be directing First Class. Matthew Vaughn is not Brett Ratner. And Matthew Vaughn met up with James last week in London. Joining them: his Kick-Ass star (and half of my obsession) Aaron Johnson. Aaron Johnson as Young Magneto? That’s the online buzz after these photos were circulated. I could handle that. You?

We talked about James McAvoy a lot, Laura and I, when we were in Cannes. One night in our pyjamas we even watched both his sex scenes from Atonement and The Last King of Scotland and squealed. I’m telling you, if you haven’t, The Last King of Scotland, oh la.